Sardinia unveils its architectural treasures
Monumenti Aperti ('Open Monuments') 2025 enlivens spring and fall weekends with art, culture and authenticity
Artistic magnificence, shared memory, identity and a sense of community: this is the most encompassing effort to safeguard, enhance and promote the cultural heritage of Sardinia. Following in last year's footsteps, the 2025 edition — the 29th — will once again take place in two phases, stretching across nine weekends: from May 3 to June 1 for the first phase, and then again between October and November. Hundreds of cultural sites will open their doors during this time, such as museums, archaeological sites, churches and historical buildings, natural monuments and parks. Each town will tell its tale through literary itineraries, architecture routes in cities that have been marked by centuries of powerful rulers. Students and volunteers are warming up to lead you along a travel through the beauty that crosses millennia, all the way to the farthest past. Places of yesterday and today, where memories of the past and ideas aiming towards the future coexist.
A priceless material (and immaterial) heritage unfolds across 87 municipalities, making the 2025 edition not only the richest ever, but also the first to truly embrace a national scale. This year, 19 Italian regions are taking part, with 23 towns from the mainland joining the celebration. It is no coincidence that the theme chosen is 'dove tutto è possibile' (where everything is possible). Four Sardinian municipalities are stepping into the event for the first time: Golfo Aranci, the 'pearl' of Gallura, a slender stretch of land embraced by Capo Figari; Oschiri, on the border between Gallura and Logudoro, a village set in a fairytale landscape and home to the famous sa panada; Sorradile, in the Oristano area, a small town carved from red trachyte and surrounded by archaeological treasures; and Mogoro, in the upper Marmilla region, renowned for hosting the Sardinian Handicraft Fair.
Among the 'faithful' partakers in Monumenti Aperti, the island's capital cannot be missing. Cagliari displays evidence of thousand-year old events, from its Phoenician roots to the Roman traces, going through medieval fortifications up to its most recent buildings, which have been stylishly set into the city's layout. The Cagliari hinterland offers a wealth of treasures too: Assemini, Capoterra, Quartu Sant’Elena, Selargius, Sestu, and Settimo San Pietro will welcome visitors with historic buildings, sanctuaries, and archaeological sites such as Nuraghe Diana, the “sentinel” standing watch over Quartu’s coastline. Moving into the Medio Campidano area, Pabillonis, Samassi, San Gavino Monreale, and Sanluri will add their stories to the journey. Towards West, you will dive into sceneries enriched by woods, waterfalls and abandoned mining villages in Arbus, Guspini, Gonnosfanadiga and Villacidro.
Sometimes culture rhymes with landscape, as among the romantic bastions of Alghero. Near the 'Catalan' city, you’ll discover mysterious and fascinating legacies from the pre-Nuragic and Nuragic past. In Sassari, museums — including the much-anticipated reopening of the G. A. Sanna National Museum — churches, and historic buildings await, nestled amid the green spaces of the city’s parks. The Sulcis-Iglesiente area could only tell its story through a journey between the sea and the mines: alongside Iglesias, Carbonia, and Nuxis, the island jewels of Sant’Antioco and Carloforte join the itinerary once again. Speaking of the sea, Pula, Sarroch, and Villasimius are ready to open their doors, while Villaputzu proudly flies the flag for Sarrabus, and Tertenia, Tortolì, and Triei represent the heart of Ogliastra. Halfway between them all, deep in the Gerrei region, Escalaplano returns to welcome visitors.
Nature comes first also in Marmilla, participating with Genuri, Gonnostramatza, Lunamatrona, Segariu, Siddi, Sini and Tuili, 'home' of the spectacular altarpiece kept in the church of San Pietro. Heading slightly towards West, you will embark on an exciting travel back in time, in Sardara. Here, the Nuragic Age is represented by the sanctuary of Sant'Anastasia, and the historical evidence found in its territory up to the Middle Ages is on display in the Villa Abbas museum. Oristano shows its Judicial past, while visitors can explore Ardauli, Simala and Terralba in the surrounding area. Up again on the West coast, an unmissable place is Bosa, with its mighty castle, the historical tanneries and the churches. On the Western side of Montiferru massif, a must-see is Cuglieri, with the old Capuchins' monastery and the Santa Maria della Neve basilica.
Charming atmospheres and intense fascination are the trademarks of the inner villages, where cultural sites and centuries-old traditions come along with handcraft and culinary excellences. This happens in Aritzo, Neoneli and Ovodda. On the edge between the Supramonte peaks and the sea of the Gulf of Orosei lie the monuments of Dorgali. In Logudoro you will explore the treasures of Monteleone Rocca Doria, Padria and Ploaghe. The task of representing Gallura falls to two “capitals”: Calangianus, the capital of cork, and Arzachena, the capital of the Costa Smeralda — where the megalithic circles of Li Muri are not to be missed. Around Sassari, the charming blend of nature, culture, and history comes to life, symbolized by Chiaramonti with the remains of the Doria castle, and joined by Ittiri, Ossi, Ozieri, Porto Torres, and Stintino.
